A one-volume reference that covers every imaginable interaction of atmosphere and light . . . This definitive book is once again available.SKY &TELESCOPEA change-your-life classic . . . This deeply perceptive book changes our own perceptions of all kinds of light and color events in the outdoors. You will never see the same way again outdoors. Some examples involve elementary optics (which explain the visual phenomena) but nearly all the 278 short chapters can be appreciated by the visually alert reader. My favorite examples include dappled light, rainbows (there are always two), and differences between reflected and transmitted light in seeing leaves and grass. The Dover edition is fine; the Springer-Verlag edition is better with its excellent color photographs.EDWARD R. TUFTE, AUTHOR OF THE VISUAL DISPLAY OF QUANTITATIVE INFORMATIONAll of science springs from the observations of nature. In this classic book, the late Marcel Minnaert accompanies the reader on a tour of nature's light and color and reveals the myriad phenomena that may be observed outdoors with no more than a pair of sharp eyes and an enquiring mind. From the intriguing shape of the dapples beneath a tree on a sunny day, to rainbows, mirages, and haloes, to the colors of liquid, ice, and the sky, to the appearance of the sun, moon, planets, and stars - Minnaert describes and explains them all in a clear language accessible to the general reader.The author's enthusiasm inspires the reader, who is encouraged and given abundant opportunity to make his or her own observations and perform simple experiments. Yet the phototgrapher, astronomer, or physicist will also find a wealth of detailed information, much available elsewhere, on more exotic phenomena assembled by Minnaert over many years. Among them are Sun dogs, the fata morgana, coronae, glories, noctilucent and iridescent clouds, and haloes.This volume includes 80 new photographs, over half in color, illustrating many of the phenomena - ordinary and exotic - discussed in the book. Most of the new photos are by Pekka Parviainen, the renowned Finnish nature photographer.

A one-volume reference that covers every imaginable interaction of atmosphere and light, this definitive book is once again available. Sky and Telescope

For anyone intrigued by visual effects apparent to the observant eye, this classic work combines lucid explanations and over 80 photographs, half in color, to explore the interplay between our visual apparatus and light in the atmosphere. This book encourages readers to observe these effects and to perform simple and instructive experiments. A beautifully produced book. 223 illustrations. 40 color plates.

Contents: Light and Shadows.- Reflection of Light.- Refraction of Light.- The Curvature of Light Rays in the Atmosphere.- The Eye.- Colors.- Afterimages and Contrast Phenomena.- Judging Shape and Motion.- Rainbows, Halos and Coronas.- Light and Color of the Sky.- Light and Color in the Landscape.- Luminous Plants, Animals and Stones.- Appendix A: Measuring Angles out of Doors.- Appendix B: Photographing Natural Phenomena.